Wednesday, November 27, 2013

There Was A Time: Rock ’n’ Roll In The 1960s In Charlotte, and North Carolina

(Fort Canoga Press)

Any region boasts a rich musical past. Some, such as New York, L.A., and Nashville are known, but rock sprung up everywhere, including North Carolina, and Berger and Coston are perfect historical guides. In this oral history, the region’s early days of rock, with such artists as The Paragons [not the “TheTide is High” ‘60s Jamaican ska group or the ‘50s Brooklyn R&B group.—ed.] with their 1966 local hit “Abba” and others show the development of a scene that rode the wave of the British Invasion, soul from Motown and Stax, and AM radio pop. Later, early efforts by Don Dixon (with Arrogance) or Mitch Easter with his early band Sacred Irony, helped lead, decades later to the area becoming one of the most important stopping grounds in the1980s punk/new wave scene. Berger and Coston have produced a work that will serve as a compelling read. (therewasatimebook.blogspot.com)

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Hello to everyone that heard me on WNCW yesterday. Yes, our book covers the Rock & Roll, Garage Rock and Psychedelic that was in Charlotte, and NC during the 1960s. This is the first book of its kind about this era of music in North Carolina. Here's the songs you heard on the show yesterday, all of which are featured in There Was A Time.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

My thanks to the Tribune for this. FYI, I did also photograph the Avett Brothers' Mignonette album. We also did not get to interview members on Concord's own Tamrons for the book, but we have since located some of the bandmembers, and am working on interviews soon.

Monday, November 11, 2013

As far as we know, there were only a handful of Rock bands from Charlotte that released a single. The Grifs, Paragons, 18th Edition (based in Hickory, with Charlotte ties), and the Damascans. When we put the book together, the only band we did not have info on was the Damascans. Imagine my surprise when I was told that their keyboardist, Toni Naples, had been at our book release party.

When I was finally able to interview Toni (which you can find on this site), she mentioned that she might have a couple of photos of the band. Thankfully, some photos did exist, and here is the band, in all their glory. My thanks to Toni for this.
-Daniel
November 11, 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013

My sincere thanks to Fred Mills for this. I'm really proud of we did with this book, and to see the Fort Canoga banner in print. And my thanks to all that came out for the show on Friday. That was a lot of fun, and we will do this show again soon. See you all soon,
-Daniel

About Me

I have been a traveler, a documentarian, an enjoyer of life, a survivor, a lead character, a supporting role, a storyteller, an excitable boy, a quiet soul, and an occasional thinker. All when the world asked me to, or all at the same time.